- Target:
- Residents of New Zealand
- Region:
- New Zealand
- Website:
- www.can.org.nz
The deaths of two cyclists in the Wellington region on Friday 19 June have highlighted for many New Zealanders the need for our roads to be made safer for people wanting to cycle.
This open letter to Transport Minister Anette King outlines a series of actions to improve safety for cyclists.
Hon Annette King
Minister of Transport
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
23 June 2008
Dear Ms King
The deaths of two cyclists in the Wellington region on Friday 19 June have highlighted for many New Zealanders the need for our roads to be made safer for people wanting to cycle.
We know that there are Government strategies and programmes with this aim, but we want to see them pursued with more urgency. This will require a lot more resources than are currently allocated.
Particular initiatives we would like to see implemented soon are:
1. a much greater shift of resources from road building to public transport, walking and cycling and other measures that seek to reduce the number of motor vehicles on our roads – it is not possible to have it both ways: things that make motoring more attractive will undermine measures to encourage alternatives
2. a change in the tolerance for motor vehicle speed limit enforcement to five per cent of the posted speed limit
3. a five-fold increase in the size of the walking and cycling budget in the National Land Transport Programme
4. a revision of funding processes to ensure that all roading projects improve the environment for cycling
5. changes to the transport planning and funding processes to ensure key problem areas or 'gaps' for cyclists (e.g. Ngauranga to Petone cycleway, Auckland Harbour Bridge) get fixed, rather than being the subject of long delays and buck-passing between various organisations
6. a national “Share the Road” advertising campaign aimed at informing motorists and cyclist of what it means to co-exist safely on the roads
7. changes to the driver licensing system and to driver instruction (including in-service training for commercial drivers) to ensure that motor vehicle drivers are educated about how to take care around cyclists.
We are happy to meet with you to discuss these initiatives further.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Ibell
Cycling Advocates' Network
http://www.can.org.nz
and the Undersigned
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The Letter to Minister of Transport Annette King - Cyclists Deaths petition to Residents of New Zealand was written by André Cymbalista and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.